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2005/09/14

أحمد فاضل النزال الخلايلهأحمد فاضل النزال الخلايله

An undated file photograph shows Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Zarqawi on September 14, 2005 declared a war on Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq in response to a U.S.-Iraqi offensive on the rebel town of Tal Afar, according to an Internet audio tape. The voice on the tape could not be immediately verified but sounded like previous recordings attributed to Zarqawi. REUTERS/Petra/Files

FBI officals warn Abu Musab maybe using chemical agents to lighten his skin so be on the look out for someone slightly more pastry looking than usual

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 114 people in a crowd of Shi'ite laborers in the bloodiest of a wave of attacks in Baghdad, and a statement attributed to Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi declared war on Shi'ites.

A total of more than 150 people were killed in Wednesday's violence and the suicide bombing was the second deadliest single attack since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the start soon afterwards of an insurgency by Sunni Arabs.

Fears of civil war have grown in the run-up to an October 15 referendum on a disputed new constitution for Iraq that is backed by the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government. Sunni politicians oppose the charter.

Zarqawi said his declaration of war on Iraq's majority Shi'ite Muslims was in response to the offensive mounted by U.S. and Iraqi forces against insurgents in the town of Tal Afar near the Syrian border, according to an Internet audio tape.

Iraq says nearly 160 insurgents have been killed in the offensive that began on Saturday. Both Baghdad and Washington say Tal Afar is a staging post for foreign fighters entering Iraq from Syria.

"Al Qaeda Organization in Iraq ... has declared war against Shi'ites in all of Iraq," said the voice on the audio tape, sounding like that on previous recordings attributed to Zarqawi. No immediate verification was available.

"As for the government, servants of the crusaders headed by (Iraqi Prime Minister) Ibrahim Jaafari, they have declared a war on Sunnis in Tal Afar. You have begun and started the attacks and you won't see mercy from us," the voice said.

BOMB VICTIMS LURED

In the worst of Wednesday's attacks, the suicide bomber lured the crowd of Shi'ite laborers to a minivan with promises of work, before blowing it up. An interior ministry source said the bomb contained up to 500 pounds (220 kg) of explosives.

Another car bomber blew himself up in northern Baghdad, killing 11 people lining up to refill gas canisters, and other bombings rocked the capital. Gunmen dragged 17 people from their homes and killed them in Taji, a northern Baghdad suburb.

A police official said the attacks appeared coordinated. Iraq's al Qaeda wing said in a statement earlier on Wednesday it was waging a nationwide suicide bombing campaign to avenge the U.S.-Iraqi offensive on Tal Afar.

U.S. officials said Zarqawi's apparent declaration of war against Shi'ites later in the day could reflect a disagreement between the Jordanian-born militant and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden and his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, had criticized previous attacks on Shi'ites in rhetoric viewed as strategic guidance for Zarqawi, the officials said.

"Clearly they don't agree on everything. While they have some common goals, Zarqawi has his own agenda," said a U.S. official, who asked not to be identified.

U.S. intelligence agents were reviewing the tape to determine its authenticity, but one official said previous taped Zarqawi messages had proved authentic up to now.

"RAINING BLOOD"

Nayif Atshan, 58, who saw the Kadhimiya blast, said a man in a van pulled up to the crowd and lured people with work offers.

"After the explosion, cars were burning around me and flesh was scattered everywhere. It was raining blood," he said in Karama hospital, with part of his leg blown off.

The hospital was overflowing with victims. Dozens of the wounded screamed in agony as they were treated on the floor, some lying in pools of their own blood.

Police said 114 people were killed and 156 wounded in the blast. The death toll has only been exceeded since the start of the conflict by a suicide car bombing on February 28 this year in which 125 people were killed in Hilla, south of Baghdad.

Another blast echoed across central Baghdad about two hours later. Two more car bombs exploded soon afterwards.

Police said five people were killed and 24 wounded in one of the blasts, near a Shi'ite cleric's offices.

The run-up to the October referendum has increased tensions between Iraq's main communities, Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds.

Iraqi officials have accused Sunni militants of attacking Shi'ites, who swept to power in January elections boycotted by most Sunnis, in a bid to spark a civil war.

Sunnis, who comprise 20 percent of the population, dominated Iraq for decades and resent their loss of influence since Saddam Hussein was toppled by U.S. forces in April 2003.

They fear the constitution will institutionalize their reduced role by granting autonomy to southern Shi'ites in line with that enjoyed by Kurds in the north, and by decentralizing control of oil revenues.

Syria, facing U.S. and Iraqi accusations it allows foreign fighters into Iraq, condemned the Baghdad attacks as terrorism.